What is "Retrieval Practice" and Why Should You Care?

Often we hear from parents who say their kids seem to spend a lot of time studying but are still, for some reason, bombing on tests. This may be because their kids haven’t been focusing enough study time on retrieval practice, which is the way the brain transfers learned material to long-term memory stores.

What is “retrieval practice”?

Retrieval practice is a strategy to turn short-term memories into long-term memories and involves a series of steps students can take to practice “retrieving” the information they’ve already learned. This practice is especially important in science classes where students are expected to know and remember foundational information that they can apply to new concepts and problems.

Rather than focus on encoding methods, such as reading and note-taking, retrieval practice actively forces students to recall information. For example, flashcards can be a method of retrieval practice as long as students are actively writing down the answers before flipping cards prematurely.

What are the best ways to practice retrieval?

Retrieval practice can be hard, which is why a lot of students will avoid this powerful strategy until the last minute. But the most effective way to study is actually to combine spaced practice with retrieval practice. The more difficult the practice is, the more effective it is.

Here are some ways students can practice retrieval:

1) Brain dumps: in this practice, students try to free recall what they’ve learned from a lesson, writing down everything they remember without looking at their notes or books.

2) Self-testing: ideally students can practice with the same types of questions they might find on upcoming quizzes & tests, and create practice tests in which they must answer questions without looking at notes or books (and then self-correct afterward).

3) Make questions: students can create their own test questions that access the information they’re trying to learn in different ways (taking different approaches).

4) Find a friend: students who have study buddies can try teaching each other the material, quizzing each other, and making corrections as needed.

5) Flashcards: this is a tricky one because students need to understand how they will learn best from flashcards before taking a lot of time making them (or spending money on pre-made flashcards). Ideally the flashcards act similarly to a self-quiz, and students write down or explain answers before checking the answers on the backs of the cards.

Conclusion

In order for learning to move from short-term to long-term memory stores, it’s not enough for students to be reading and taking notes — they also need to be practicing retrieving the information so that, when it comes time to take the test — their brain can quickly work to find the data they need.

For more information on retrieval practice, we recommend checking out this website.